Dutch civil servants plan nationwide strike on April 14 over wage freeze

Dutch civil servants are set to stage another protest against the so-called wage freeze, with a nationwide strike planned for April 14. According to unions, employees across the country will walk off the job, while gatherings are scheduled in cities including Groningen, Utrecht, Apeldoorn, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Amsterdam, and Maastricht.

The dispute over the wage freeze has been ongoing, as civil servants are set to receive neither a pay raise nor compensation for inflation this year. Unions argue that this means all 160,000 central government employees will effectively lose purchasing power.

The unions emphasize that executive agencies of the national government, such as DUO, Rijkswaterstaat, and the Custodial Institutions Agency, are “hit hard by the wage freeze.” These organizations are already dealing with heavy workloads and staffing shortages, and the absence of pay raises is making recruitment and retention even more challenging, adding further strain to public service delivery.

Dutch civil servants have previously protested the wage freeze. At the start of this month, the union FNV held a major strike gathering in The Hague, announcing the upcoming nationwide strike.

Earlier actions included strikes by customs officers at Schiphol and civil servants in the eastern Netherlands. The unions say the lack of impact from these earlier measures highlights “a stark lack of respect for those who keep the country running.”

Previous strikes disrupted government services, making them harder to access. Several major slaughterhouses had to close for a day, as inspectors from the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) also joined the strike.

Unions FNV, CNV, AC Rijksvakbonden, and CMHF Overheid are coordinating the strike.

The spokesperson said it is still too early to predict the full impact of the nationwide strike on April 14, with more details expected closer to the date. He added that, since all unions are taking part, the strike is likely to have a bigger effect than previous actions.